Firearm having a floating receiver



July 29, 1958 W. B: BUTLER FIREARM HAVING A FLOATING RECEIVER Original Filed July 29, 1955 INVENTOR. WALLACE B, BUTLER T 2,844,904 Patented July 29, 1958 FIREARM HAVING A FLOATING RECEIVER Wallace B. Butler, Branlord, Conn., assignor to Olin Mathieson Chemical Corporation, a corporation of Virginia 7 Original application July 29, 1955, Serial No. 525,136. Divided and this application October 17, 1956, Serial No. 616,543

3 Claims. (Cl. 4275) This invention relates to firearms and in particular to firearms having a one piece Wooden stock.

The invention is a division of a co-pending application Serial No. 525,136, filed July 29, 1955, by Wallace B. Butler entitled Firearm.

A particular featureof the present invention is the provision of a firearm having one piece stock wherein there is no direct connection between the receiver of the firearm and the stock. By virtue of this construction, the details of which will become more apparent hereinafter, the receiver is described as being a floating receiver.

It is a particular object of the present invention to provide a firearm having excellent take down characteristics.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a firearm including a one piece stock, a receiver, a recoil block and a barrel wherein the receiver is not directly secured to the stock but is connected to the barrel on the forward end and supported by the recoil block on the rear end.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a firearm which may be readily disassembled.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide a firearm including a receiver wherein the receiver is restrained from motion relative to the stock without being directly or rigidly connected thereto.

It is a further object of the present invention to pro-- vide a firearm which may be disassembled upon removing a single screw.

A firearm embodying certain features of the present invention may comprise a one piece stock, a recoil block rigidly mounted in the stock, a barrel and a receiver in threaded engagement so as to define a barrel-receiver assembly, said recoil block being adapted to support the receiver, and means for securing the barrel to the stock whereby the receiver makes no direct connection with the stock.

Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of a firearm constituting a specific embodiment of the invention when read in conjunction with the appended drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side view of a firearm embodying the prin ciples of the present invention with certain portions thereof broken away for clarity;

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 with the barrel and receiver assembly removed to show to advantage the one piece stock;

Fig. 3 is a view of the recoil block and;

Fig. 4 is a view of the receiver with a portion thereof broken away to show the internal threads at the forward end.

Referring now to Fig. 1, there is shown a rifle indicated generally by the reference numeral having a one piece stock 11. A bore 12 formed in the stock provides clearance for an anchor bolt 13 utilized to anchor an L-shaped recoil block 14 to the stock. The forward end of the recoil block 14 is formed with a generally circular projection or boss 16 which is adapted to receive a mating shouldered recess 17 formed in the rear end of a receiver 18.

It is to be noted that the receiver is supported upon the recoil block by the engagement of the boss 16 formed on the recoil block and the recess 17 formed in the rear end of the receiver. The receiver may be readily disengaged from the recoil block by merely rotating the receiver upwardly (Fig. l) and away from the stock as if the receiver and the recoil block were hinged at 19.

It is apparent in Fig. 4 that the forward end of the receiver is formed with internal threads as at 21 for receiving corresponding threads formed on the barrel 22. A lug 23, dovetailed into the receiver is formed with an inclined surface 24 adapted to engage a corresponding surface 26 formed on the stock. The barrel and thus the receiver is held in a predetermined position with respect to the stock by means of a screw 27.

By virtue of the wedge action which occurs between the inclined surfaces 24 and 26, the combined receiverbarrel assembly is homed. upon the recoil block as the screw 27 is set to haul the barrel down upon the stock.

From the above description, it is apparent that the receiver by virtue of its cooperation with the barrel and the recoil block is not directly mounted nor rigidly connected to the stock.

It is further obvious that by utilizing the present invention the firearm may be quickly taken downi. e., the barrel-receiver assembly may be separated readily from the stock simply by backing off the screw 27. When the screw is entirely released from the barrel, the barrel may be grasped near its forward end and rotated in the direction shown by the arrow of Fig. 1. The inclined surfaces 24 and 26 slide by one another and the receiver pivots off the boss 16 by the hinge action previously described. The trigger guard, of course, readily clears the underside of the pistol grip portion of the stock since the lever guard is rotatable from the position shown in Fig. 1 through an angle of approximately 60 degrees in the direction shown by the arrow.

It is anticipated that various modifications and embodiments of the present invention may be devised without departing from the spirit and scope thereof.

What is claimed is:

1. In a firearm having a one piece stock including a cavity formed in the stock for accepting a receiver, the combination therewith of: a barrel-receiver assembly comprising an L-shaped recoil block rigidly mounted in the stock and having a mounting boss for supporting one end of the assembly, the receiver end of said assembly being formed with a shouldered recess engageable with the boss whereby the assembly is rotatable about the boss, cooperating inclined surfaces formed on the assembly and on the stock for homing the assembly upon the recoil block whenever the assembly is rotated towards the stock and screw means engageable with the barrel and with the stock for securing the barrel to the stock whereby the receiver bridges the stock cavity.

2. In a firearm having a one piece stock including a receiver cavity formed in the stock, the combination therewith of: a barrel-receiver assembly comprising a recoil block including a mounting boss rigidly mounted in the stock for removably carrying one end of the assembly and cooperating inclined surfaces formed upon the assembly and the stock respectively for urging the assembly upon the boss and towards the recoil block and a screw directly engaging the barrel and the stock for securing the barrel to the stock whereby the receiver spans the stock cavity.

3. In a firearm having a one piece stock including a cavity for housing a receiver and including means for supporting the receiver within the stock whereby the re ceiver spans the stock cavity, the improvement comprising: a recoil block mounted in the stock and formed with a boss for carrying the receiver, said receiver being formed with a cooperating recess engageable with the boss, a

barrel in threaded engagement with the receiver, said.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Fay May 31, Swebilius Sept. 10, Schirokauer Apr. 4, Humeston Dec. 14, Clark et al. Sept. 13, Roper et al. Oct. 9, 

